Yemen’s former president declares support for Houthis

Yemen’s General People’s Congress (GPC) party, led by former Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh, yesterday announced its support for the four conditions setup by Houthi leader Abdul-Malik Al-Houthi to end the crisis afflicting the country.

In a statement on the GPC’s official website, an official said: “The congress and its allies are still asking for the outputs of the national dialogue conference that concluded the peace and partnership agreement.”

It called for speeding up the implementation of the four points that were included in Al-Houthi’s speech on the grounds that there are points that enjoy consensus, having been included in the peace and partnership agreement signed by all factions.

The party’s official expressed the party’s keenness to “get Yemen out of the political stalemate and avoid violence and bloodshed”.

Al-Houthi put four conditions for ending the crisis in Yemen, which has been witnessing rapid deterioration in its security since Monday following clashes between the presidential guard and the militant group.

In a televised speech broadcasted on Al-Masirah, which is owned by the group, Al-Houthi said the group’s first demand is speeding up the rectification of the national body tasked with monitoring the output of the national dialogue conference that was concluded in January 2014.

Al-Houthi’s requirements also include speeding up the amendment of the draft constitution, implementing the partnership agreement and handling the security situation.